


Sleepwalking

by CentrauGuardian



Series: Whole [2]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Daemon-verse, M/M, this happened, welp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5900749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CentrauGuardian/pseuds/CentrauGuardian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Finn's rather abrupt realisation that he's not quite whole, things have settled into a kind of normalcy. He's not complete, but it doesn't mean he needs to stop enjoying his life and loving the people he's found. Only, it seems the Force (as usual really) has other plans.</p>
<p>Daemon-verse. Follow up to Whole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleepwalking

The first time it happens, Poe doesn't seem to have any sympathy at all. In fact, Poe seems to think it's the funniest thing this side of... well, ever, apparently.

Finn's sprawled on the floor in front of the door way, hands clasped to his nose from where he's apparently decided to walk straight into the door to their bunk. He's turned enough to look at Poe, who's currently collapsed on their bed, holding his rib cages as he laughs hysterically. Flare's little better, though at least she's discreetly trying to hide her indelicate snorts behind the shelter of her wing. Finn prods his sore nose tentatively, a vague pout on his lips as he frowns over at the pilot.

"Ith hurth," he whines, then flushes when he realises that he'd slurred the words, even as Poe howls with laughter on the bed. Flare makes a weird choking noise, head ducking lower below her wing and Finn pouts properly this time. He decides it's only appropriate to sit there and glare at the pilot and his bird until the two of them stop laughing (and he's a little afraid to say anything else).

"I'm... I'm sorry love," Poe finally manages to choke out, rolling up and wiping his eyes as his shoulders shift with laughter. "I just... It was so... You just walked straight into it!" He chuckles, clearly trying to get himself back under control for long enough to give his lover a sympathetic look. "What by the Force were you doing anyway?" He asks, as Flare finally manages to lift her head and shuffle her wings back as if nothing had happened at all.

Finn continues glaring for a moment, then sighs harshly, wincing at the ache that causes in the bridge of his nose. "I don't know," he grumbles, "one minute I was dreaming and the next I was on the floor wondering why the hell my nose hurts so much." He frowns, tenderly touching his fingers to his face.

"You mean you were asleep?" Poe's brows shoot up incredulously, "you ever sleep-walked before?"

"Sleep-walking?" Finn considers it, then shakes his head, letting his hand fall back down to the floor. "Don't think so, pretty sure the First order wouldn't be too impressed with that..." 

"Hey," there's a rustling of sheets and Poe's on the floor next to him, warm hands coming up to cup his cheeks. "A little bit of sleepwalking isn't anything to feel bad about," and Poe kisses Finn's forehead, which he realises has creased up in an anxious frown. "Maybe it's just a natural habit you've got that's been suppressed until now." He wraps Finn up in a hug, somehow knowing that Finn needs to be held right now.

Finn considers it. He's started weaning himself off the medication the Resistance doctors had given him to help ease the effects of the suppressants being removed from his system. They'd warned him there would be side effects, but that hopefully, with a steady, slow process they could minimise them as much as possible. There'd been no chance in hell they'd allow him to go any quicker, and he knew it was because of the cardiac arrest he'd experienced on the operating table while they'd been trying to repair the damage the First Order and Kylo Ren had done to him.

It made sense really, that the sleepwalking might be a simple side effect of them reducing the doses slowly. But there was something elusive, something niggling at the edge of his conscious that he couldn't quite put his finger on...

Poe pulled back and kissed him on the corner of his lips, then stood up, putting his hands up for Finn to pull himself up with. "Come back to bed," he said, fingers lingering on Finn's as he stepped backwards, gently tugging Finn towards the bed. Flare's already ducked her head under in her wing in that way she does when she's just on the edge of sleep, Finn notices, and can see the tiredness in Poe's eyes too. "Maybe it's a one time thing, we can ask the doctor about it in the morning if you want?"

"Hmmm, okay," Finn replies, kneeling onto the bed behind Poe and allowing the pilot to position him so that Poe is wrapped protectively around him. He pulls Poe's hand to his chest and sighs contentedly when he feels Poe duck his head and press a kiss to his shoulder. His nose has stopped hurting already, aided by the "improvements" the First Order had made to him, and it's not long before he lets it fall from his mind and slips back into sleep.

\-------

The second time it happens, Poe's not quite so amused.

Evidently he hadn't been woken by Finn slipping out from the sheets this time, and it was the deep "thunk!" and pained cry that startled him awake this time. Flare squawked in fear, then dived over to where Finn was sat in front of the door again, gingerly prodding at his nose and cheeks. She chattered anxiously at him and Finn winced painfully back at her.

Finn found himself being dragged along the corridor by an anxious Poe before he'd had time to do much more than yank a jumper over his head and he awkwardly tried to pull it over his arms as Poe barreled onwards towards the medical bay. He's not sure what's gotten Poe so worked up by it at first, but then he puts his fingers to his lips and they come away bloody, so he doesn't say anything to stop him. Flare's winging her way to the edge of her boundary distance from Poe, then flapping back and checking that they're still following before repeating the same. She reaches the medical bay before them and is already informing the on-duty nurse of what's happened in crisp, efficient tones when Poe pulls Finn through the door.

Finn's kinda touched, considering he's learned that it takes a fair amount for a daemon to speak to someone they're not close to.

Then it's a whirlwind of tests and scans and "why didn't you tell us about this the first time it happened?" and Finn's trying to give her an apology even as she turns away to check on some results. Poe's almost looming over the bed, arms folded as he practically dares the nurse to try and throw him out. Finn thinks it'd probably look slightly more intimidating if he was wearing more than just his sleep shorts, but at least he can admire the view.

He thinks Flare notices before Poe does, because she's suddenly smacked her wing to her beak and turning to Finn. "You gonna be okay if me and Flyboy go get properly attired quickly?" she asks, and Finn's hard pressed not to laugh as a bright red flush spreads across Poe's chest and face.

"Yeah sure," he smiles at her, taking a moment to stroke his hand down her back. She trills in pleasure, and he can feel Poe grin as he kisses Finn's cheek. 

"Don't go walking off on me, now!" Poe tosses over his shoulder as he goes, and Finn can't help but make the rude gesture at him that he saw Pava do in the cafeteria the other day. It leaves Poe laughing as he heads down the corridor, and Finn just can't keep from smiling.

Of course, that's when the nurse comes over and barely warns him before shoving the medispray up his nose. But at least that stops the bleeding, he thinks, coughing as it hits the back of his throat.

As it turns out they can't really find anything to suggest why he's started sleep-walking. There's no imbalance; his organs and neurotransmitters are all functioning normally and the careful weaning of the medication he's been on doesn't appear to be causing any problems. In fact, his body seems to be coping extremely well with the changes. Doctor Veris, who'd come on duty a could of hours after Poe's dragging of Finn to the medical bay had frowned at the results and suggested that maybe, shockingly, Mr Dameron might just be right. This may well simply be a natural quirk that the suppressants had hidden up until now. Poe's a bit smug to have come up with a good suggestion, and Finn's a bit annoyed that he might end up waking up to a bump in the night every so often, but the doctor tells him that once they've got him off all the medication and safely under the wing of his own brain chemistry again, they can look at methods of curing the sleepwalking if necessary. He's given a bit of advice on what to do if he manages to bang his nose again, and Poe and Flare are given a rundown on what to do if he does sleepwalk, but he's essentially told he'll have to deal with it for now.

\------

The third time it happens, however, Finn is wide awake and nearly burns himself in the process.

He's been making repairs on some of the ships with the pilots, making himself useful as he's currently not needed in the armoury. He's working on one of the spare X-wings with Pava at the moment, who's entertaining him with stories of General Organa catching them sneaking off the base for trick flights. Finn's holding a soldering iron pointed away from himself, laughing at what she's saying and then suddenly he's across the hanger bay and Poe's frantically shouting at him to " _wake up!!!_ ".

There's a smell of burnt leather, and as Finn blinks back awake he feels heat from the shoe on his right foot.

It's dead silent all around them, the only noise Poe's panting breaths as he stares at Finn, clearly trying to figure out if he's fully back with him yet. Finn quickly realises the other pilots are surrounding him and are staring at him with wide eyes. He’s not quite sure what’s happening, doesn’t remember the transition between laughing with Pava and standing near the x-wing exit doors.

The x-wing hanger doors. He pales; the doors are standing open as pilots have been taking the ships in and out for test runs all day. There’s a sharp drop immediately outside of them, probably not enough to have killed him, but enough that he’d have broken something when he hit the ground. He shudders slightly and realises Poe’s hands are on his shoulders and he’s braced against Finn.

Finn hadn’t been aware he was still pushing back against Poe until that moment. He forces his muscles to relax and Poe stumbles slightly at the change, catching himself at the last moment. Finn puts his hands out to steady him and almost reels back in shock when he feels how badly Poe is shaking. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, rubbing his palms down Poe’s shoulders reassuringly.

Poe stares at him. “Am I okay!?” He gasps, then grabs Finn’s shoulders. “Kriffing hell are _you_ okay! You just kept walking! We couldn’t get you to stop! I was… Kriff Finn I was terrified! You dropped the damn iron on yourself!” Suddenly Poe looks down at his foot, “Is your foot okay? What the hell happened!?”

Finn can’t bear the panic in Poe’s voice and he pulls him forwards into a hug. “I’m okay now, Poe, I’m okay,” he murmurs, gripping Poe as close as he can. He feels the air move against him and suddenly Flare’s tucked up on his shoulder, nuzzling across the top of his head and leaning over to tug anxiously at Poe’s hair. Finn lets go of Poe with one hand to rest it Flare’s side, knowing that comforting her is just as important as comforting Poe.

Pava clears her throat nearby and Poe shifts reluctantly, pulling back from Finn. Flare hops over to sit on Poe’s shoulder, betraying Poe’s upset by alternating between yanking on feathers under her wing and plucking Poe’s hair back into place. Finn watches closely for a moment before looking at Pava, who gives him an apologetic smile for ending the embrace. “Do you know what happened?” She asks, the other pilots pulling in closer in worry.

Finn frowns “To be honest, the last thing I remember is fixing the X-wing with you.”

Some of the pilots murmur, and Poe clearly can’t help himself from reaching out and putting his hand on Finn’s arm.

“It was like you were sleepwalking again love,” Poe says, squeezing his arm briefly. “Are you sure you hadn’t fallen asleep or something?”

“No way,” Finn shakes his head. “I mean, I had the soldering iron in my hand, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep like that.”

Pava nods, “Yeah, he was definitely awake. It was pretty weird actually. One minute he was laughing at me and the next…” she pauses briefly, before carrying on. “Your head just snapped round Finn. You dropped the soldering iron and it’s pretty lucky it just hit the edge of your boot. You suddenly just got up and started walking. I shouted at you a few times but it was like you couldn’t even hear me,” she looks at Poe. “I’m pretty sure if Poe hadn’t managed to stop you you’d have gone straight over the edge of the bay…” She stops when Poe shudders at her words.

“I don’t remember that at all…” Finn admits, feeling his stomach start to churn. “I just…” he frowns, “I think I vaguely remember feeling like there was something I was forgetting while you were talking to me and then nothing until just now.” 

“Something you were forgetting?” Poe asks.

“Yeah,” Finn frowns, “I can’t think what, just something. I’ve been getting that kind of feeling a lot recently.” He shrugs.

Flare suddenly whips her head up to look at him, then ducks to whisper something into Poe’s ear. He blinks and glances at her, before nodding. “I think we’d better see General Organa,” he says.

Finn can’t quite help the sudden flush of fear. Logically he knows the Resistance won’t just get rid of him if he’s defective, he’s had that proved to him time and time again, by his own treatment after the lightsaber wound if nothing else. But he can’t help but think that maybe there’s a limit to what they’re willing to give. He must have cost them a lot of money by now, and it’s not like the Resistance has much money to spare.

It’s Flare who notices first, and even before Poe’s reached out to him, she’s winged over to sit on his shoulder, nipping at his ear. It’s an admonishment and a claim, and the exasperated sigh he can hear settles him. Poe’s not far behind, flinging his arm round Finn’s back to pull him close. “You’re stuck with us, you hear?” He shakes Finn lightly, careful not to dislodge Flare from her perch. “Not a chance in hell we’re letting you go.” He grins at Finn, before leaning over to rest his forehead against Finn’s cheek, pressing a kiss to his shoulder on the way.

Finn finds it hard to hold onto his fears for very long around Poe, he thinks, lifting his arm to wrap around the pilot’s waist.

Snap’s clearly reached the end of his tolerance, if the fake gagging noises are anything to go by.

Pava grins and rolls her eyes at them, as the other pilots start to disperse around them. “Take it you’ve thought of something boss?” she asks, putting her hands on her hips.  
Poe lifts his head and frowns slightly. “Flare’s got a bit of a hunch. Need to speak to the General to get it confirmed.”

Pava nods and turns away. “Just make sure you’re taking care of him. Some of us have grown fond of our ex-trooper.”

Finn feels his cheeks flush as Poe laughs.

\-----

It doesn’t take them very long at all to gain an audience with General Organa. In fact, Poe’d just walked straight in and whispered something to her while Finn shuffled his feet at the door. He knew the General encouraged them to come to her with their problems whenever they needed to, but he still couldn’t quite get his head round being able to walk straight up to her without standing on ceremony. It didn’t help that Poe had refused to clue him in on the walk over, saying that he didn’t want to get his hopes up. That confused him the most about the whole situation; what on earth could he get his hopes up about.

He kept an eye on the pair of them as they conversed quietly, and only became more confused when General Organa had looked surprised before glancing over at him. She abruptly turned to the others in the room and informed them that she would be occupied for a while, and not to disturb her unless necessary. She motioned Finn over and moved towards her office at the side of the room, Lyrin stretching before following her. Poe gave him an encouraging grin as he walked over, slipping his hand briefly into Finn’s and giving his fingers a quick squeeze.

When they entered the office General Organa waved them over to seats near the door, even as she settled into hers across the table from them. Lyrin didn’t follow her around the other side, choosing instead to sit near Finn. Flare glided down to him, and the pair had a brief, hushed conversation while the humans settled down, resulting in Lyrin giving Finn a curious look.

There was a brief moment of silence, Finn uncomfortable about starting what he believed would be a difficult conversation about his failings. He steeled himself and opened his mouth to begin when he was interrupted by a harsh bark of laughter from Organa.

“You can stop worrying that I'm going to bite your head off Finn,” she told him, a strangely pleased expression on her face. “Poe was right to bring you to me. Seems we have our answer about your daemon after all.”

Finn stared at her, completely thrown off balance by the non sequitur. “What?” he said, intelligently.

Organa leaned forwards, crossing her arms on the desk as she smiled at him. “I would apologise about invading your privacy, but I didn’t even have to press to sense it,” her smile grew stronger. “Your Force energy is reaching out for something, and something is reaching back.” She nodded as Finn’s face slackened with shock. “It’s thin and weak at the minute, but it’s definitely there. Congratulations Mr Finn, you have a daemon.

Finn’s pretty sure his brain has short-circuited. He’s gaping like a fish, but he can’t find the words to say. Poe’s grinning delightedly at him and Flare trills in excitement. Even Lyrin has started purring.

“I… But… What?” Finn manages to say, and Poe’s laughing with joy.

“You’ve got a daemon!” he says, leaning over and grasping Finn’s arm. “The First Order didn’t take that from you!”

Finn swallows dryly, still not able to take his eyes off Organa’s softening expression. He’s told Poe his fears, his anger that the First Order has taken even that from him; that maybe he’d never be whole and normal ever again. He knows Poe can tell how important this moment is for him, but he’s still not sure he’s wrapped his mind around it.  
“It’s why you’ve been sleepwalking,” Organa tells him, clearly realising he can’t quite tell if this is real or not yet. “It’s why you blacked out and started walking in the hanger bay,” she frowns. “The Force is trying to drag you back together. Since you’re still taking some of the medication that’s been suppressing the pull, it’s only just able to manifest itself. I believe it’s using moments when your mind is most open; when you’re asleep or relaxed.”

“Kriffing hell,” Finn gasps, and Poe’s startled laughter helps him to claw back some of his focus. “You mean I’m really… I mean… I have a daemon?”

There’s something sad in Organa’s expression, even as Poe’s fingers tighten on his arm. “Yes Finn,” Organa tells him, sincerity in every line of her body. “You have a daemon.”  
He can’t quite help the quiet sob and Poe’s out of his chair and pulling him into his arms before he’s even realised he’s crying. He can feel Flare’s talons settle carefully into the thick fabric of his work trousers, and even Lyrin presses comfortingly against his calf before sitting watchfully by the door. He drags in a breath, reigning in the tears as he grips Poe’s shirt with both hands. He’s allowed weakness with these people, he knows, but he can’t allow himself to properly fall apart until it’s just him and Poe. He’s cried in front of General Organa before, but he’d promised himself he’d never do it again, and he focuses on that thought to stop the trembling in his fingers. Poe sighs above him, and he knows he’ll have the emotions dragged out of him when they’re in privacy later, but Poe hugs him closer for a second, then lets him go, allowing him to have his strength in front of this woman he respects so much.

Organa raises an eyebrow at him when he turns to look at her, but doesn’t comment on it. “You’ll have to be careful for now Finn. I want you to come and see me at least once a day from now on. You’ve got a small amount of Force sensitivity, and I believe I can use that to teach you to guard yourself against moments like today.” She sighs and leans back. “It’s a pity my wayward brother isn’t here yet. I am certain he would be able to follow the trail to guide us to your daemon. As it is I’m worried about the fact that the pull has made you black out, putting you in danger.” She grimaces before fixing him with an stern look. “I’m not going to ask you to take the suppressants again,” Poe shudders beside him, and Finn has to swallow back bile at the sudden feeling of revulsion. “I can’t imagine being in your position. But we have to keep you safe for now. And I’m sorry to make you wait any longer than you already have, but until we can be sure you’ll be safe on your journey, I’m going to have to ask you to hold on.”

Finn’s surprised at the feeling of anger that request incites in him. It’s only the long years of training in respecting authority that prevents him from telling her just where she can shove that order. And as nicely as it’s phrased, it is an order. She’s telling him to wait, even though he’s waited decades already, without even knowing it.

Poe’s clearly thinking along the same lines. “But General, this is his daemon we’re talking about…”

“I know,” Organa sighs heavily. “It’s not exactly a situation we’ve ever had to deal with before. But at the moment, we don’t have the pilots to spare to get him there, and don’t even think about offering yourself,” she glares at Poe. “You we need more than most and you are well aware of it. And even if we could, at the moment, the only time you’re feeling the Pull is when you’re asleep or blacked out. Consider how dangerous that would be if you were to come across First Order fighters.” She shakes her head. “You would not be able to go alone for fear of not being able to rouse yourself, and considering what Poe tells me about what happened in the hanger bay, you may well place others in danger without intending to.”

Finn goes cold. He hadn’t considered that. He glances over at Poe, who’s frowning over at Organa. If Poe had continued trying to stop him, would he have done something to get him out the way? Or would he simply have kept pushing forwards until they’d both been at risk of falling over the edge? He doubts Poe would have stopped trying to prevent him from going towards the fall, and Organa’s words make him suddenly frightened about what lengths he might have gone to in his desire to answer the pull.

Flare grips his thigh tighter briefly, and he looks at her in surprise. “We will help you find them,” she tells him quietly. “But I think the General’s right.” Poe sags beside him, and Finn can tell Flare’s said what Poe had also realised, but didn’t want to say.

Finn looks up Organa and knows immediately that this hasn’t been easy for her to say. He’s pretty sure she would have given anything to have stuck him on an x-wing and given them leave to go. He can’t be sure what the relationship between human and daemon is actually like, having never gotten to have his, but considering the closeness he’d observed between the quiet Lyrin and the General, he knew she wouldn’t keep that from him unless she believed it was utterly necessary at this point.

He swallows and nods at her, not quite able to bring himself to speak. Flare’s talons tighten on his leg, pricking through the thick cloth, and Poe puts a hand on his shoulder, gripping firmly.

Not alone, Finn thinks. Not whole, but not alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kind of enjoying this world.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who commented/left kudos/bookmarked or hell, even took the time to read the first story in this. I'm not sure how far this is going to go; it's definitely going to be written as little ficlets rather than as one long piece of fiction (largely because I'm bloody terrible at keeping focus on one story for long enough).
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it so far, and thank you again for all the support; made my entire month! 
> 
> Key of daemons:
> 
> Pava: Blue-jay  
> Snap: Starling  
> Rey: Fox  
> Poe: Peregrine Falcon (because of course you would have a bloody peregrine falcon damnit)  
> Leia: Lynx
> 
> I realise the last two aren't actually mentioned exactly in the text, but I thought I'd make it clear here. It's also not mentioned, but people with bird daemons have some pieces of modified kit, including a shoulder pad that can be easily slung on under/over clothing. Finn wears one too because Flare has quite firmly made it clear that he belongs to her. At some point there may well be the story of Finn figuring out who has what and why, but we shall see!


End file.
